Generous Celebrities in Photos

Generous Celebrities

Taylor Swift, for the second year in a row, topped DoSomething.org's list of the most generous celebrities of the year. Swift donated $100,000 to the Nashville Symphony on her 24th birthday. The gift is smaller than the $500,000 she gave to Hands on Nashville Community Foundation of Middle Tennesse in 2010 for flood relief plus $100,000 to Hendersonville, Tenn., where she attended school.

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Generous Celebrities

Taylor Swift, for the second year in a row, topped DoSomething.org's list of the most generous celebrities of the year. Swift donated $100,000 to the Nashville Symphony on her 24th birthday. The gift is smaller than the $500,000 she gave to Hands on Nashville Community Foundation of Middle Tennesse in 2010 for flood relief plus $100,000 to Hendersonville, Tenn., where she attended school.

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Generous Celebrities

Beloved British boy band One Direction ranked second on DoSomething.org's list of the most generous celebrities. The band released its single "Red Nose Day" and raised $3.3 million for the Red Nose Day charity, whose money goes toward shelters and protecting victims of domestic abuse in the U.K. The charity also supports various health causes in Africa.

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Generous Celebrities

Beyonce came in third on the most-generous list. Before she dropped into a Massachusetts Walmart store on Dec. 23 and handed out $50 gift cards to everyone shopping at the store (for a total of $37,500), she headlined London's charity concert for women's rights, "Chime for Change." She also co-founded of the Survivor Foundation for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

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Generous Celebrities

The late Paul Walker of the "Fast and Furious" film series came in fourth on the list of most-generous celebrities. Walker died in a car crash after leaving an event for his Reach Out WorldWide charity -- a network of professionals who can offer first responder skills.
Click for other celebrities who gave back through the years.

Jeremy Lin Launches Foundation for Underprivileged Kids

The Houston Rockets' Jeremy Lin hosted a gala in Houston on Feb. 14, 2013 launching an initiative of the Jeremy Lin Foundation. Its Making a Difference Project will benefit three nonprofits: youth community center Workshop Houston; youth educational service provider, Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees; and a Houston school serving low-income families, Yellowstone Academy.

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Celebs Who Donate Time and Dollars

Singer Justin Bieber, performing at the Izod Center on Nov. 9, 2012 in East Rutherford, N.J., announced on Facebook a day earlier that he was donating a dollar for each ticket sold to his four New York area shows to Sandy disaster relief.

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Celebs Who Donate Time and Dollars

When Madonna performed at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 12, 2012 in New York City, she asked fans for donations to disaster relief efforts for Sandy victims as many threw cash on stage.

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Celebs Who Donate Time and Dollars

Newlyweds Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel help pass out goods to Hurricane Sandy victims in Rockaways in New York City, Nov. 10, 2012.

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Celebs Who Donate Time and Dollars

Dave Matthews Band announced it was pledging $1 million to recovery efforts from super storm Sandy, turning its tour opener on Nov. 30 in East Rutherford, N.J. into a benefit concert. All proceeds from the show, including money from ticket sales and merchandise, will go to the Bama Works Sandy Relief Fund, an offshoot of the DMB's own charitable organization

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Celebs Who Donate Time and Dollars

Chelsea Handler, pictured attending the 22nd annual Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Carnegie Hall, Nov. 12, 2012 in New York City, donated $100,000 to the Red Cross from relief efforts after super storm Sandy. Handler, a N.J. native, was inspired by actor John C. Reilly, who asked audience members to donate $10 to the Red Cross while he was on her talk show, Chelsea Lately.

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Generous Celebrities

Actor Jon Hamm, who plays Don Draper on AMC's "Mad Men," returned to his former school in St. Louis to raise money for a new performing arts center and athletic center, expected to be completed in 2013. A member of John Burroughs School's class of 1989, Hamm said, "I've never seen a place that does it better than Burroughs," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

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Generous Celebrities

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt attend the Children's Health Fund "Raise Awareness" event on Dec. 22, 2007 in New Orleans. Pitt's Make it Right Foundation continues to build homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit the region in 2005. Jolie, a special envoy for the U.N. Refugee Agency, visited Syrian refugee camps with civilians fleeing the country's conflict that's lasted over a year.

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Generous Celebrities

Boys & Girls Club alumnus Denzel Washington attends the 2011 Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year event in Washington, Sept. 20, 2011. The actor is a spokesman for the organization but has also donated to other organizations, including donating $1 million to Wiley College to help re-establish their debate team after filming the 2007, "The Great Debaters."

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Generous Celebrities

Edward Norton has been active in a number of non-profits, including as a board member of New York Signature Theater Company, Conservation Lands Foundation, and The Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, which works with the Maasai people of Kenya. In 2010, the actor also co-launched Crowdrise, a social fundraising website.

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Generous Celebrities

Actress Jamie Gertz of ABC's show, "The Neighbors" and her husband, Anthony Ressler, were named as Forbes' Most Generous Celebrities in early 2012. They donated $10.6 million to the Ressler-Gertz Foundation, which has given grants to the L.A. County Museum of Art and Cedar Sinai Medical Center. Ressler is a senior partner at investment firm, Ares Management.

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Generous Celebrities

Musician Herb Alpert, of Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass, was listed as number two on Forbes' list of most generous celebrities in early 2012. He gave $9.1 million to his foundation, the mission statement of which includes supporting "the mechanisms and means through which young people can discover, harness and fully develop their unique creative energies and their special talents."

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Generous Celebrities

Actor Mel Gibson, number three on Forbes' list of generous celebrities, attends the Cinema for Peace fundraiser for Haiti, Jan. 14, 2012, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Gibson gave $6.9 million to the A.P. Reilly Foundation, his foundation that supports the Holy Trinity Church, Forbes reported.

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Generous Celebrities

George Lucas arrives for the screening of the film "Cosmopolis" at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, May 25, 2012. The filmmaker gave $4.3 million to Lucas Film Foundation and George Lucas Educational Foundation which focuses on youth. Forbes named him the fourth most generous celebrity on their list earlier in 2012, followed by the late writer Nora Roberts.

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Generous Celebrities

Ndamukong Suh, defensive tackle of the Detroit Lions, gave $2 million to the Nebraska University athletic department and $600,000 to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering for a scholarship, the largest single gift from any former player. A graduate of the University of Nebraska, he was Forbes' sixth most generous celebrity, followed by St. Louis Cardinals Lance Berkman.

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Generous Celebrities

Meryl Streep and husband Don Gummer attend the 2012 Made In NY Awards at Gracie Mansion, June 4, 2012, in New York. The two gave $2 million to their Silver Mountain Foundation for the Arts, giving them the title of eight most generous celebrities by Forbes.

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Generous Celebrities

Model Gisele Bundchen gave $1.5 million to the Red Cross for Haiti Relief, giving her the title of 15th most generous celebrity on Forbes' list in early 2012.